Petrochemical plant construction 46 per cent complete

July 20, 2018

| Azlan Othman |

THE Hengyi Refinery and Petrochemical Plant Project at Pulau Muara Besar (PMB) is 46 per cent complete and construction is set to be finalised next year, according to panel members at the 11th Hengyi Stakeholders Engagement Dialogue Session yesterday at Tarindak D’Seni in Jalan Residency.

Officers from the Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF), Royal Brunei Navy (RBN), Fire and Rescue Department, Marine Police, Ministry of Communications, Ministry of Development as well as officers from several stakeholder departments and agencies were also present.

The panellists said that Hengyi is conducting dredging works around the area to allow larger vessels to dock at Muara Port. The company also made significant efforts to ensure marine life around the island remain unaffected by the project.

A total of 11,804 people are working on the island, including over 1,100 trainees of the Centre for Capacity Building (PPK).

Hengyi, as part of its workforce localisation drive (the firm is targetting about 80 per cent local hires for Phase 1 of the project), has been sending talented Bruneians for training in China.

Eleven students from Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) penned scholarship agreements in February with the company for its joint Chemical and Process Engineering Scholarship Programme between UBD and Zhejiang University, China.

The company will also enter into a twinning programme partnership with IBTE and a Lanzhou-based vocational polytechnic specialising in petrochemicals – the tripartite agreement is scheduled to be penned in the first week of August this year.

Fire personnel including officers and firefighters were also sent to China to undergo a firefighter training course earlier in June this year, with another batch to be sent for the same months-long training further down the line.

The panellists added that a number of side projects will be open for tender for local contractors, including maintenance and Halal catering services, while several activities in the third quarter of the year are to be implemented, such as the construction of more jetties, as well as a hydrogenation unit and aromatics complex.